Shanghai stocks rocket more than 10% at open

HONG KONG - Mainland Chinese stocks soared more than 10 percent at the open Tuesday as traders resumed a blistering rally after a week-long break hoping for more economy-boosting measures from Beijing, which unveiled a slew of stimulus last month.

The Shanghai Composite Index surged 10.13 percent, or 337.91 points, to 3,674.40, and the Shenzhen Composite Index on China's second exchange piled on 11.37 percent, or 219.09 points, to 2,146.57.

However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slipped 4.18 percent, or 965.00 points, to 22,134.78 on profit-taking after a healthy run-up last week.

The gains in China come ahead of a planned news conference later in the morning in which policymakers are expected to flesh out the policies.

Investors have been racing back into stocks on the mainland and Hong Kong since authorities began announcing a raft of stimulus measures to reverse a long period of tepid economic growth.

Among the measures unveiled were interest rate cuts, an easing of how much banks must keep in reserve and relaxed rules on buying a home.

The markets have been under intense pressure in recent years as traders fretted over government crackdowns on a range of sectors, with property and tech among those most badly affected.

Most of the pledges were aimed at providing much-needed support to the real estate market, which is a major driver of growth but has been battered by a debt crisis at some of the country’s biggest developers.